


Cleaning Rituals

by moretrash



Series: Dads of Marmora [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dads of Marmora (Voltron), Galra groom each other like cats, Keith has Galra instincts, The Galra are horrified by baths and showers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 02:11:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13225983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moretrash/pseuds/moretrash
Summary: Galra and Humans have very different cleaning rituals.





	Cleaning Rituals

Keith, Antok, and Kolivan had just come back from a mission. They were covered in mud, and it had soaked through their suits in some places, where the armor wasn't present.

It made Keith feel disgusting. Looking at the other two, he could tell that they were uncomfortable with it as well. However, he knew that Ulaz would want to check them for injuries before letting them go, he always did.

He was just worrying about his pack, and honestly, Keith liked when he fussed over him, checking him three times over for injuries after particularly rough missions. It made him feel more valued than he already did around the four blades. But sometimes, it was just plain annoying when he was caked in mud and he just wanted a shower and a nap. But, at the same time, he had a tendency to hide minor injuries that he didn't think needed tending, and it annoyed Ulaz to no end.

So, it was really no surprise when Thace and Ulaz came to them, smiling welcomingly. Keith smiled a bit and patiently waited for what he knew was coming, for Ulaz or Thace to start looking for cuts and scrapes and bruises, maybe even gashes or broken limbs. But, to his surprise, something else entirely happened instead.

After he had gotten the top half of his suit off, exposing his chest and arms to the two, Thace leaned close and ran his tongue along his cheek and jaw, where some bits of mud lingered. Keith was immediately taken aback by the strange action, part of him disgusted and part of him oddly relieved, though he had no clue why.

"What the hell was that?!" He demanded, pulling away roughly. Thace looked at him, his head tilted in confusion.

"Do humans not clean each other?" He asked.

"Clean each oth-" one glance at Ulaz saw him mimicking a similar action on Antok. Oh, now he understood what Thace meant. "No. We typically take showers." He said. 

"Showers?" This was from Ulaz, pulling away and glancing at Keith in fascination.

"Yeah. Its when we stand under a faucet that's above our heads and it drenches us in water. That's how humans get clean." Keith said. "Well, when you're a kid you'll take a bath, human babies can't stand up until they're about a year old."

"What's a bath?" Kolivan this time.

"Well, its a way to get clean for human kids, but a way to relax for the adults. Its when you fill a large tub with water and soak in it to get clean." Keith explained. Wow, he never thought he'd see the day where he would be explaining what a bath was to a race of giant purple space cats.

"What if you drown, though?" Thace said, sounding horrified.

"We don't, usually. Well, I guess if your head slipped underwater you could." Keith said. All four Galra stared at him in horror. "What do Galra do?" Keith asked, confused.

"Well, we groom each other with our tongues. Our saliva has a natural cleaning agent and our tongues are rougher to easily dislodge things from our fur." Thace explained. Keith hesitated before voicing his next question.

"Is it normal to... want to groom someone?" He asked. Ulaz smiled at him.

"Yes, its natural to have an urge to be groomed and to groom members of your pack. Why?" Ulaz said. Keith hesitated a bit more.

"It was this... odd feeling when Thace... groomed me, I guess? I mean, humans typically find it gross and such but I... didn't?" Keith said, unsure of how to voice the sensation. Thace let out a short laugh, his tongue running across Keith's shoulder.

"That is natural for Galra. After things like missions or particularly trying things, we feel shaken up sometimes. Its nice for our pack to groom us, it calms us down." He said. Keith nodded, allowing Thace to groom him.

"Doesn't it taste bad though? The mud?" He asked.

"Sometimes. Most of the time we don't taste it." Antok spoke up.

Keith sighed a bit, smiling when Ulaz started tending to the minor scrapes that he had. 

"Have you wanted to groom someone or be groomed before?" Ulaz asked.

"When I was a kid, sometimes. But on Earth, grooming someone is called licking, and its generally considered to be rude or gross, so nobody really let me do it or did it to me." Keith said. Ulaz nodded.

"For Galra, its natural. And if you have any other urges that are different to human culture, chances are that they're based in your Galra blood, so just approach one of us, okay?" He said. Keith nodded and smiled, his head tipping forward to rest on his chest, the steady licking sensation soothing him into a light sleep.

A deep laugh caused him to open his eyes.

Antok looked at him. "You really must be a young kit by our standards if you're falling asleep just because you're being groomed." He said. Keith shook his head.

"I'm not young. I'm just... tired from the mission. And this feels good." Keith protested, yawning. Antok smiled.

"Whatever you say, kit. At least go get changed into more comfortable clothes before you fall asleep where you're standing." He said. Keith nodded and let Thace finish grooming him before going to change out of his Blade suit and into a shirt and sleep pants.

When he was changed, he went straight to the room where the nest he was so accustomed to sleeping in was set up. He didn't know when he come to sleep with the four blades more often than in his own bed, but he was sure that he had found his pack, and it pleased him more than anything when he pack curled around him, protecting the kit. They were so warm against his skin, soothing him into an even deeper sleep. He deserved it, he supposed, after the mission he had. He deserved a good, long rest, surrounded by his pack. His family.


End file.
